Pallor Lux Lucis
by Yuko6754
Summary: Memory Arc. Not everything is a happy ending. Title means Fading Light.


**Scooter: I got this idea after watching the start of the episode where Zork destroyed Ra's head and the Pharaoh was suffering from it. So I decided to do one of those oh-so-common 'What If?' stories. XD Yeah. What happened if Zork just destroyed more than that? Not everything is a happy ending, kiddies. =D Anyway, I hope you can enjoy!**

**_Pallor Lux Lucis_  
**

It was over. She didn't even know how it really happened. Mana gently shook the Pharaoh, hoping to get some kind of reaction. When she succeeded in getting a moan of pain, and a small shudder, she couldn't help the smile that graced her lips.

"Oh thank the Gods he's alive!" Then she thought about what she had said and looked at said fallen Gods that were laying in the field in front of them, gray, turned to stone.

The Winged Dragon of Ra had lost its head, and it was that blow which had knocked the Pharaoh down from his hands and knees, to falling onto his face to the hard earth. The crimson of his blood had already begun to saturate his clothing, and he shuddered again, drawing the mage's attention back to him. Mana looked up at Seto, her eyes pleading. "What do we do, Seto-sama?!" she cried, torn between wanting to fight for her King, and helping him to a safer area.

Seto turned his eyes down upon the girl and was immediately reminded vaguely of the girl Kisara. The innocent eyes, and open face. The skin tone was different, but that hardly mattered at this point. Kisara was dead, but her soul and spirit remained inside the Blue Eyes White Dragon.

The Pharaoh let out a sudden sharp cry of pain and Mana looked down at her King to see him attempting to curl in upon himself as pain wracked his body. She already knew the cause.

_That monster is destroying the Gods! That's why he's hurting so much! Oh if only we could help him!_

It was just as Mana thought. Zork had grabbed Slifer's head with the head protruding from its midriff, and proceeded to tear the the skull in half, having grabbed both the top and bottom of Slifer's jaw. The top and bottom of Slifer's head flew the separate ways, the top landing a mere six meters from the mage and high priest. A giant foot then slammed down upon Obelisk and the Pharaoh let out another cry, his hands clutching at his chest as if trying so hard to get the tearing in his heart to cease. It felt like a knife was twisting inside his chest, and it pressed deeper inside at each passing second.

Mana continued to shake him gently. "Pharaoh! Pharaoh! Wake up! Please wake up!"

Almost as if he had heard her plea, the King's eyes snapped open. However, to Mana's dismay, they were hollow and blank. "Seto-sama! What do we do?!" she cried out again to the priest as if he knew exactly what he was doing. Like _anyone_ knew what they were doing at this point.

"Mana, take the Pharaoh to the palace on the roof. He's Egypt's only hope; we can't let him die! The kingdom would undoubtedly fall! Hurry, Mana! Get His Highness to safety!" The mage nodded and hoisted the limp Pharaoh up, cringing slightly at the bloody clothes that hung off of the king.

"I'll protect you, Pharaoh! Don't you worry! I'll protect you in my master's place!"

Slowly, Mana began her long trek to the palace with the king leaning against her heavily, his breathing coming in rasps, and a small trail of blood trickling down his chin.

Zork began to laugh. "Mwahaha! No matter what you do, Egypt will be ruled under _my_ thumb! Oh?" He looked down to spot Seto the high priest running towards him, his arm extended to the sky.

"_Kisara_!" He cried, watching as the blue-and-white dragon appeared, roaring, and circling around Seto, as if to give comfort before the battle. _Stay safe, my king. I'll be back up for you. I'll destroy this beast on my own with Kisara._

~*~

Her breath came in painful bursts as she gently laid the Pharaoh down on the balcony on his back. His eyes were still open, staring blankly ahead, not noticing anything. Mana sighed sadly and she sat down on the balcony on her knees, and began to pray. She prayed for the Pharaoh. For Seto. For the lives of all the people in the kingdom. For the Pharaoh's friends. For Egypt. She was torn out of her prayers however, by a scream from behind her. Mana yelped slightly and turned to find the Pharaoh curled up on his side, his eyes wide and blood streaming from both corners of his mouth. He coughed weakly and Mana let out a cry of despair, running over to him, almost tripping in the process, and pulled him into a hug, not caring about the blood on his clothing that was now seeping into hers. She turned her tear-streaked face to the sky, searching for something, anything that could help her.

"Help us! Please, help us!" She cried out to the fire-red sky.

And, just as if it had been waiting, lights appeared in the sky and were coming closer. They were the Pharaoh's friends!

"Look, Pharaoh! See? Your friends are coming! Just hang in there, OK? Just a bit longer! Just a bit--Pharaoh?" His eyes had slowly rolled to the back of his head and his breathing slowed as well. "No! _No_! You can't! Just hang in there a moment longer!"

The lights landed, revealing Honda, Anzu, Jonouchi, and Yuugi. They all ran, smiles upon their faces to see their friend, but stopped short, their happy faces slowly dissolving to confusion, then to horror, then an overwhelming sadness. Yuugi darted to the Pharaoh's other side.

"Mou hitori no boku!" he cried, tears already gathering in his amethyst eyes. "No! You can't go!"

The seconds passed.

No word was spoken.

The last breath was exhaled.

". . . .Aibou. . . ."

"_Mou hitori no boku_!!!" The scream of anguish filled the blood-red sky, and Zork's laughter competed with the cries of sorrow. The Dark Lord looked down upon Priest Seto's lifeless body and just laughed all the harder.

Egypt had fallen. Egypt had fallen along with its King. The King who had no name.

As the cries and laughter died down, a name was whispered on the wind. It was whispered so softly that no one could hear it.

_Atemu_.

* * *

**Scooter: There you have it. As I said, I only watched the first part of that episode, so I don't know/remember what Mana did after she took Atemu to the palace. ((sweatdrops)) So please, forgive me. Then again, it's only FANFICTION, so I can what I want. So there. ((grins)) Anyway, I'll see you guys next time I manage to update, whenever that will be!! Seeya next time!**

**_~~Scooter~~_  
**


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